The Practice of Praying for Our Enemies

Weâ€™re shifting into a new season. After Labor Day, the rhythms of autumn take hold: vacations are over, school is back in session, church activities kick off, traffic snarls resume, and the busyness continues.

On top of it all, we continue to face an onslaught of despairing headlines, from the racial unrest in Charlottesville, to the catastrophic flooding in Texas, and now the changes to DACA. Iâ€™m sure Iâ€™m not the only one a bit anxious and overwhelmed as we face the cadence of fall. Itâ€™s easy to get scattered and fall away from the practices and structures that support our souls. Hereâ€™s a suggestion: donâ€™t.

Thatâ€™s an aspirational exhortation. I regularly fall off the wagon this time of year, and itâ€™s usually not until I and everyone around me is completely miserable that I finally cry out for help. I simply donâ€™t do well without regular rhythms of prayer, journaling, and scriptural meditation. As embodied creatures, we are deeply affected by the structures and activities that fill our lives. Itâ€™s a fairy tale to think otherwise.

One of the practices that sustains me is reading the lectionary. While only one of the churches I attend follows the lectionary (Iâ€™m Reformed-Anabaptist, or Anabaptist-Reformed, and I love both my churches too much to give up either!), I am regularly blessed by attending to the cycle of Christâ€™s life throughout the year.

Romans 12:9-21Â is particularly apt this week (I encourage you to read it if you havenâ€™t recently). Paul, sounding quite a bit like Jesusâ€™ Sermon on the Mount, encourages us to â€śhold fast what is good,â€ť and â€śpersevere in prayer,â€ť and, so far as we are able, â€ślive peaceably with all.â€ť Paul tops it off with a reminder that vengeance is the Lordâ€™s and our responsibility is (yes, you guessed it) enemy love. Not my favorite activity, which, Iâ€™m guessing, is why Paul reminds me of it.

My prayer and challenge for us this month is to integrate praying for our enemies into our new rhythms of the season. Of course, this isnâ€™t possible on our own. We need to continue to pray together that the Holy Spirit would do a new thing in us, and that Christâ€™s peace would reign for the world to see. And today, we can start with our enemies.

One prospective Colossian Forum participant put it this way: â€śWhat will we do after I say my piece, he says Iâ€™m wrong, then he says his piece and I say heâ€™s wrong?â€ť Nobody wants to repeat the same, tired arguments yet again. Or worse, what about when there is absolutely nothing to talk about? â€śEvolution is established reality so stop saying it isnâ€™t.â€ť â€śThe Bible clearly says homosexual activity is evil so Iâ€™m not listening.â€ť End of story. No more discussion. What then? Beyond deadlocked arguments, these are seemingly inescapable mires of incomprehensibility. But we serve the Lord who demolishes dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14). Crossing the rubble of the demolition begins by desiring to see thingsâ€”if even for a momentâ€”through the otherâ€™s eyes. Or even to feel the weight of what so convinces the other. This moves toward the truth. It is the way of Jesus, who walked alongside Pharisees, tax collectors, and prostitutes. He brought them life where they were without leaving them there. Jesus invited people into His world by painting pictures of His kingdom that made sense in their world. Entering anotherâ€™s world demands firm rootedness in my own. â€śOpen-mindednessâ€ť to others is not intellectual laziness or confusion but sets me aside for a moment to care for another. And so we imitate Christ: â€śValue others above yourselvesâ€ť (Philippians 2:3). Talking in Colossian Forums isnâ€™t just about transferring information. Itâ€™s about visiting strange, new worlds where we kindle shared desire for truth, shared yearning for friendship and shared devotion to Jesus. Since these things are far beyond our grasp, we ask for Godâ€™s helpâ€¦together. â€śPlease open my brotherâ€™s eyesâ€¦and my heart,â€ť we sometimes beg. Only then can we voice our frustration: â€śHow can you think the way you do?â€ť An honest question seeking an honest answer. Now weâ€™re talking. Thereâ€™s no magic for entering anotherâ€™s world. Itâ€™s like any new friendship. We ask each otherâ€™s story. â€śHow did you come to faith? What kind of church shaped you? When have you doubted? How have you suffered?â€ť We talk about what we fear will go wrong if the other side wins. We talk about why we think the other is damaging the church and what we admire about each other. We pray for each other. And, yes, we talk about the complex questions and challenges that divide us. After we talk, we need to return to prayer. We give thanks for being drawn closer to God and one another. We repent of how weâ€™ve wronged God and one another. We voice our hope that He will continue to hold all things together (Colossians 1:17). Itâ€™s hardly rocket science, but thatâ€™s the kind of talking across difference that keeps drawing us back for more.

The Colossian Forum equips leaders to transform messy cultural conflicts into opportunities for spiritual growth and witness. Our vision: a Christian community that acts Christian, especially in the face of conflict.